TOPIC:

I bought the dyna crimper cause it was on sale but personally I think you could do as good with what you have ..... before you order hopefully someone else will second me though .....

gwyon wrote:

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I did consider the pads as being the cause of the timing, and when I checked this photo, I thought it looked like the pads were there, so I did not mention it. But maybe that photo fooled me, and that is not in fact a rubber pad glued onto the arm. They do fall off, and just look like debris in the housing, so most people inadvertently throw them out.

Even on closer inspection of the photo, it still looks to me like there is a pad on the arm, but I've been fooled by photos before.

If the rubber pads fall off, that will cause the timing to retard. If the timing gets reset to the normal timing for idle, then it will be too far advanced at higher RPMs, so it is important to always check the timing at full advance. That is probably more important than idle timing.

I apologize for not mentioning it sooner. I just did not want to add variables since it looked as if it was not an issue.

Dyna coils are basically an industry standard. I would not be afraid to buy a new one from them, especially since they have a good reputation fro customer service. But with factory electronic ignition, the 2.2 ohm grey coil is a slightly better match for the factory system. The 3 ohm coil will work, and may even work ok with points, at the expense of a little bit of point life, so if you might run points, you'd probably want the 3 ohm coil.

Loudhvx -- you're right, it does look like the pad is still there on the arm. But it's definitely gone now. I might have knocked it/them off when I pulled the rotor off the advancer. I haven't noticed any pads on the garage floor, but they're pretty small. I'll take it easier on the replacement arms.
About the coil -- I wrote to Dyna last week and asked them which coil is right for my bike. I gave them the particulars, including ohms at the primary terminals (1.8 to 2.8 ohms), and they recommended the green coil. I've heard that you're not supposed to go down in ohms, but it's okay to go a little higher? Maybe I should call Dyna just to make sure. Since it seems that my pickup coil is working, I guess I'm sticking with electronic ignition. Thanks, KZB2. I think I'll try to make do with my crimpers.
I was so pleased about having good timing at idle that I forgot about checking the timing at higher rpm. I'll do that tonight.
Update -- Upon closer inspection of the garage floor:

Save those pads. You may need to super glue them on in the future.

Yes, it is safer to go up in resistance than to go down in resistance. The factory coils are spec'd to be about 2.3 ohms in the center of the range they give. The Dyna coils are spec'd at 2.2 ohms. That should be close enough to be considered the same, especially considering that the real resistance, while hot, is always much higher. But it's really about the charge rate versus available dwell. The charge rate is related to the inductance (usually specified in milli-Henrys for motorcycle coils), That is the factor making the 2.2 ohm Dyna coil more closely suited to the Kawasaki system, than the 3 ohm coil.

The Dyna help line is just being overly cautious, and in my opinion, unnecessarily. Their grey coil looks to be tailor made to fit the Kz ignition exactly. Their tech line has never been very sophisticated. they often just repeat a standard answer without really delving into the details. Did they even ask about dwell?

3 ohm Dyna and Accel coils work, but their limitations will show up if you bump the compression ratio, or let the spark gap get opened much farther than the factory setting. And you don't need to worry about igniters since you can make a replacement one for around $20.

For details on the 2.2 ohm Dyna coils, and how they compare against the factory coils, you can take a look at my page on various coils. I don't have the green 3 ohm Dyna listed, but Dyna's specs show it to be very similar to the Accel 3 ohm coil, and for simple resistance/inductance values it is similar to the 3 ohm mini coils. (But the mini coils can't handle the heating like the big coils, so should not be used for factory ignitions.)
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/Ignitio...s/IgnitionCoils.html

Bottom line, though, unless you are modifying the motor or spark plug gap, either coil should work. The 3 ohm coil will be friendlier to points, and will also work with the Dyna S in case you ever want to go that route (though I also consider that a step down from the factory system).

Loudhvx -- I visited your website and started to read your information about coils. I think I'll just take your word for it and buy the Dyna 2.2. I appreciate your faith in me, that I could build one of those HEI igniters of yours. It might be fun to try. Do you have any advice about mounting the Dyna coil to the bike frame? I was reading what you wrote about open and closed loop coils.

I'm not real familiar with the 440 frame. The Dyna coils come with two sets of holes in their cores, so I assume one set of holes will line up with your frame, but I'm not sure if there will be an issue with the way the plug wires come out. Also, be aware that the screws for the small wires have a tendency to short against mounting bolts. Others will probably chime in (Patton?) with photos of how to avoid problems there. Then you also have to cut new wires etc.

The whole issue of closed loop or open loop core will not matter significantly, (and it was more or less an academic issue on my website), especially since the coil is so close to matching the factory coil. But the preferred way to mount it is with two steel bolts to the core of the coil. If it is not possible to do so, don't worry about it, it probably won't have any noticeable effect.

I've done some searches on this forum, and I've seen posts with photos of custom L-shaped brackets used for mounting. And I've also seen how some people cover the mounting bolts with plastic tubing to keep them from shorting against the wires. So I think I'll steal those ideas.
Thanks again for everyone's help on this.